Don Kerr

Don Kerr is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist[1] and record producer. He is the drummer, lead singer and front man of Toronto band, Communism. He plays in Ron Sexsmith's band,[2] and sometimes with The Kelele Brothers and Dan Mangan.

Don Kerr
Kerr in 2007
Background information
Birth nameDonald Kerr
OriginCanada
GenresIndie rock
Occupation(s)Musician, record producer, songwriter
InstrumentsDrums, cello, vocals, guitar
Years active1983–present
Associated actsRheostatics, Ron Sexsmith, The Kelele Brothers, BidiniBand, The Dinner Is Ruined, Minotaurs, Dan Mangan, Caveboys, Communism

Early life

Kerr studied guitar as a child; he experimented with a number of instruments as a teenager, and later studied drumming with Jim Blackley.[3]

Career

Kerr was a member of Rheostatics from 1995 to 2001; he recorded on several of their albums, and performed on a number of instruments, including cello and bass.[4]

He and Sexsmith released an album together, Destination Unknown, in 2005;[5][2] the album, which features their vocal harmonies, was produced by Kerr.[6]

He has also played with and mixed for The Hidden Cameras, Minotaurs, BidiniBand and Bahamas.

Kerr also acted in the Canadian independent film, Amy George (2011), alongside his wife, Claudia Dey.

Kerr was producer for Karyn Ellis' 2010 album Even Though The Sky Was Falling.[7] He set up a recording studio, "Rooster", in his home; In 2012 he produced the album Letters Home for Amy Campbell.

In 2014, along with guitarist Paul Linklater and bassist Kevin Lacroix, Kerr founded the Toronto-based band Communism.[8] Their debut album, Get Down Get Together, was released in 2016.[9][10] The band performed at the Hillside Festival in Guelph in 2017.[11]

In 2016 Kerr produced Toronto songwriter Charlotte Cornfield's second album, Future Snowbird,[12] and later Shawna Caspi's album Forest Fire.[13]

In 2017 Kerr drummed for Tamara Lindeman's album The Weather Station.[14]

Personal

Kerr and Canadian writer Claudia Dey married in 2005.[15] They live in Toronto and have two children.

Discography

With Communism
  • Get Down Get Together (2016)

With Sexsmith & Kerr

With Rheostatics

With The Hidden Cameras

With BidiniBand
  • The Land Is Wild (2009)

With Minotaurs
  • The Thing (2010)

Solo
  • The Sniffing Princess (1999)
  • Carny Soundtrack (2008)
gollark: I offered a nocturne.
gollark: It probably would be possible without *too* much work.
gollark: My stuff is mostly just hosted on a Raspberry Pi, which works because of the probably one request a day at most.
gollark: I think now you mostly just rent a VPS or something, which is much cheaper.
gollark: It's not really as much an issue of "specialized know-how" as "ridiculously expensive hardware".

References
  1. Canadian Composer. 4. Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. 1993. p. 16.
  2. "Don Kerr / Ron Sexsmith Destination Unknown". AllMusic review by Mark Deming
  3. "The Rooster". Exclaim!, By Vish Khanna, Mar 25, 2012
  4. https://dropd.com/issue/21/GroupOfSeven/ "A Group of Seven on the Group of Seven"]. Dropd, live review by P. Freako. August 22, 1996
  5. Levack, Chandler (September 1, 2005). "New and Notable Releases". NOW Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. "Sexsmith & Kerr Destination Unknown". Exclaim!, By Vish Khanna, Sep 01, 2005
  7. "Karyn Ellis Even Though The Sky Was Falling". !Earshot Online, Allison Brown, Jan 12, 2010
  8. Schneider, Jason (September 13, 2016). "Five Questions With... Don Kerr of Communism". FYI Music News. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. Wheeler, Brad (September 15, 2016). "It's time to face Communism – the band". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  10. "Communism Get Down Get Together". Exclaim!, By Jacqueline Tucci, Sep 14, 2016
  11. "Communism Island Stage, Guelph ON, July 16". Exclaim!, By Sarah Greene, Jul 17, 2017
  12. "Charlotte Cornfield Flies Home For 'Future Snowbird'". Exclaim!, By Sarah Greene, Mar 07, 2016
  13. "Episode 343: Shawna Caspi Interview and More New Releases". Folk Roots Radio, October 5, 2017.
  14. "The Weather Station Is Not Related to the Weather and Other Facts About Tamara Lindeman's New Album". Exclaim!, By Sarah Greene, Oct 05, 2017
  15. Goddard, John (September 20, 2008). "The poor man's Banff Centre". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
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